41. July

Power restored

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

Brothers in every way

Brody and Kyser Nemecek share passion for livestock

RICHARD LUKEN

Despite their prodigious success at livestock shows, county and state fairs and other competitions, neither Brody nor Kyser Nemecek have stopped to tally up the hardware.

Neither has much of an idea of how many ribbons, buckles or banners they’ve earned through the years.

Still, there are occasions when it’s time to take note.

Such was the case earlier this month for the sons of Jeff and Carla Nemecek at the National Junior Swine Association’s National Junior Summer Spectacular in Louisville, Ky.

Kyser, 16, was crowned the Premier Berkshire Breeder at the event, beating out competitors from across the country.

was recognized for his efforts in that capacity for the past year.

employees will return for permanent fixes, typically for homes whose lines had been pulled from

See STORM | Page A2

Kyser, 21, is largely done with such competitions, although he’s about to enter his senior year at Kansas State University, where he’s on the school’s national champion livestock judging team. He’s also president of the NJSA’s Board of Directors, overseeing the 13,000-member organization — the largest youth livestock association in the country — and

But the crowning glory for both came later on in the event, when the Nemeceks were both tapped as NJSA Herdsmen of the Year, an honor that typically goes to single members.

“To have brothers be named together was pretty awesome,” Kyser admitted afterward.

Carla Nemecek, their mother, had heard in advance about the special honor her sons were about to receive.

Her biggest task at hand was ensuring Kyser — who had already completed his competition — was somewhat presentable for when the award was announced.

“We joked around, that we needed to make sure he didn’t look like he was cleaning pigs, that he was actually ready for the award,” Carla said.

“”Why do I have to take off my ball cap?” Kyser asked beforehand.

“I said, ‘Just do your hair,’” Carla replied. “I had to con-

New 4-Her learning the ropes

By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register

CHANUTE — Brynleigh Shultz, age 8, entered 4-H this past year with a delighted enthusiasm and a love for animals.

When a neighbor offered her a newborn calf to use as a 4-H project, Brynleigh gathered her nerves to discuss the matter like a true professional.

“I’m willing to take your bucket calf, if I can,” she told him.

Once she’d taken on the responsibility, Brynleigh realized she didn’t know much about raising a calf. Her mom and stepfather, Nickole and Ryan Herder, helped her research how to care for the animal. The family lives in rural Chanute near the four corners of Allen, Neosho, Woodson and Wilson counties.

Brynleigh will compete at the Allen County Fair for the first time next week. The fair is July 27-30. She is a member of the Logan Pals 4-H Club. After taking her calf home, Brynleigh had to bottle-feed it every morning and evening. At each feeding, he would wag his tail.

So, naturally, she named him Wags. Next, she had to learn how to put a halter on Wags and lead him. Though he’s quite large, Brynleigh wasn’t intimidated. It took time to bond with Wags. “For a couple of days, he wouldn’t come to me. He was scared,” she recalled. She found a solution. Every day, she would take a chair and a book to Wags’ pen and read to him. Mostly, they read

See SHULTZ | Page A2

IHS grad Diehl honored by HCC PAGE A4

Brody, left, and Kyser Nemecek raised pigs on their family farm north of Iola. The brothers have both earned national recognition for their work with swine. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Brynleigh Shultz is a first-year 4-H’er with the Logan Pals club. She will compete at the Allen County Fair next week with Wags, her bucket calf. She also plans to show her sheep Becky, Fluffy and Champ. COURTESY PHOTO

Brynleigh Shultz and her sheep, Champ, took first place at a recent show.

Kyser, left, and Brody Nemecek were both named Herdsman of the Year by the National Junior Swine Associaiton.

See BROTHERS | Page A3

Storm: Most cleanup complete

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their meter boxes, Hutton said.

In addition, crews are canvassing town to replace broken power lines, and then will repair the half-dozen or so broken streetlights, Hutton said.

ELSEWHERE, the Southwind Rail Trail, the hiking and biking trail that connects Iola

and Humboldt, was reopened Friday morning. Volunteers had been working on the trail daily since last Friday’s storm, removing fallen trees and limbs that had blocked the trail, often completely. The volunteers received a boost from a team of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks employees

Iola city crews were on the scene immediately after a ferocious storm sheared off power poles and ripped apart countless trees in the area. Here, they are fixing a pole near Iola High School, one of the main lines connecting the city to Iola’s electric generating station. That line played a large role in why so many Iolans were without power for several days.

Wednesday, using a mini excavator to greatly speed up the clean-up.

Volunteers David Fontaine and Jay Kretzmeier will continue working on the trail to get rid of limbs that have been cleared away from the passageway, but the trail is safe for both bicyclists and hikers/runners alike.

Downed trees and power lines in alleys proved extra treacherous for Iola city employees following the July 14 storm. This alley had a downed line twisted among the foliage. As repairs continued, it often meant residents on one side of the alley had their power restored sooner than those who lived on the other side, City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said. “They had to work through these situations, alley by alley,” Hutton added.

Shultz: Young 4-H’er bonds with animals

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“Junie B. Jones” books together as well as “The Cat in the Hat.”

“He literally sits down next to me,” she said.

Once, she brought a blanket next to his pen and took a nap beside him.

“When I woke up, his head was sticking out of his pen.”

Another time, she placed a bow on his head and took a picture with an iPad. Her efforts worked.

“Now, every time I go to feed him, he’s rubbing all over me,” she said, laughing.

WAGS isn’t Brynleigh’s only 4-H project. She also takes care of three Suffolk sheep.

Brynleigh could barely contain her giggles as she tried to explain what she had named them and why.

“One is Becky,” she said with an ornery grin, giggling harder. “I don’t want to say it.”

Finally she relented. “It’s Becky Big Butt. ‘Cause she has a big butt.”

“Another one is named Fluffy. He does not listen very well,” Brynleigh explained. “The other one is Champ.”

Brynleigh Shultz, front, competes in a sheep show at Garnett with Champ.

Just as she had to learn how to take care of Wags, Brynleigh has had to learn how to care for the sheep and how to train them for the show ring.

“Sheep take way more work. I had to learn much more about them,” she said. She learned about ways to develop their hind legs, such as placing a pole in the middle of the pen they have to jump over or using a “chariot” they push with only their back legs. She started leading her sheep with a rope until she felt comfort-

able enough to guide them without it. She learned how to hold the chin, stand at the front of the animal and brace its body to make sure it stands properly.

Champ recently won first place at a show in Garnett. Brynleigh battled her nerves as she stepped into the show ring. She remembered advice her mom had given her: “Light touches. Look at the judge. Smile.”

AS A first-year 4-H’er, Brynleigh has learned a lot.

She attended meetings and made friends. She dedicated herself to the care of her animals. Now, she’s learning how to compete in the show ring.

“I’ve changed a lot,” said.

A few weeks ago, Brynleigh organized a lemonade stand and sold no-bake cookies to raise money for her cousin, Dakota Slocum, so he could compete at a rodeo in Wyoming. In addition to the bucket calf and sheep shows, Brynleigh also plans to enter the 4-H photography and food competitions at next week’s fair.

“I don’t know what food I’m making yet,” she said, considering. “Maybe cookies. Something simple.”

Iola employees had to run electric wire through a tree in this location following the July 14 storm.

“The fact that everyone had power by Wednesday evening shows how hard these guys worked as well as how well trained they are,” Iola City Clerk Roxanne Hutton said.

Council to meet at Community Building

Iola City Council members will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the John Silas Bass North Community Building for their regular meeting. The location has changed from its typical location, the New Community Building at Iola’s Riverside Park, because of the

upcoming Allen County Fair.

Among the items on the agenda are discussions about recruiting firefighters and ambulance personnel, and a proposal to annex a parcel of land at the far northeast edge of town for a business development project. The public is invited.

Court news

IOLA MUNICIPAL

COURT Judge Patti Boyd

Convicted as follows:

Sue M. Burgess, Iola, theft, $336, probation ordered

Tristan D. Fry, El Dorado, theft, $315, probation ordered

Joseph M. Leftwich,

Neosho Falls, driving while suspended (third or subsequent offense), $3,000.

Caden A. Vink, Humboldt, 50/35, $185

Diversion agreements:

Amanda M. Sauer, Iola, driving while suspended, $515

The Southwind Rail Trail has been cleared for re-opening.

Brothers: Nemeceks earn national honors in swine industry

vince him without telling him.”

BECAUSE of their five-year age gap, Brody and Kyser have rarely competed against each other, “although we just finished a golf match,” Kyser said last week, without identifying who won.

Truth be told, Brody preferred that.

“It always felt like we were showing with each other but rarely against each other,” Brody said. “He’d help me or I’d help him whenever we could. And now that I’m done showing, it’s about us working together for Kyser to have as much success as he can.”

Kyser, who is about to enter his junior year at Iola High School, is putting the final touches on his entries for the Allen County Fair, which runs next week at Iola’s Riverside Park.

After that is the State Fair, the American Royal and being a part of the Southwind District 4-H Livestock Judging team (which won the state title last year.).

“We kind of catch our breath after the American Royal in the fall, but when we show in the winter, and it starts all over again.”

Oh, and Brody will play football and basketball once again for the Mustangs, a commitment that usually means playing games until the late hours on Friday, then hitting the road at the crack of dawn Saturday for a livestock show.

Kyser’s schedule hit high gear last summer, when he began showing off his Berkshire gilt for NJSA, in the Bred-andOwned Division, a step up in competition, because most competitors buy their animals.

The Nemecek brothers are fifth-generation breeders, whose great-great-grandfather, E.D. King had the nation’s largest Berkshire herd in the country in 1905.

“We come by it naturally,” Kyser said. “And we’re just competitive by nature.”

Kyser earned enough points through the winter to earn a shot at the national competition in Louisville, capped by an interview with some of the country’s most prominent livestock breeders.

“I knew he’d gotten an interview, and I

Judge sets May trial for Trump

knew it had gone well,” Brody added, “but you still don’t know where everything will end.”

Turns out it ended quite well. In fact, Brody — as NJSA president — was assigned the duties of listing the various winners, and thus was able to announce his brother as premier Berkshire breeder.

“That was a fun experience,” he said.

LIKE his younger brother, Brody’s schedule has been jampacked.

On top of his duties as NJHSA president, which has taken him across the country to various events from California to New York, Brody has been working as a summer intern for the National Pork Board in Des Moines where he specializes in swine health.

And because of his past success at 4-H

schedule prevents him from partaking in other activities through the summer, like summer weightlifting sessions with his football teammates.

“Remember, when these boys go to those national competitions, it usually means being gone a week at a time,” Carla added. “The NJSA has given both of the boys a lot of opportunities. Brody’s been able to travel all over the country, and formulate whatever career options are out there. It’s an awesome opportunity. And for Kyser to interview in front of some of the industry leaders — not a lot of kids his age get that experience.”

Mostly, Brody misses getting to work with his brother.

events, Brody routinely fields dozens of calls a year to help judge at various fairs and shows.

He accepts the offers when he can, but also notes counties in which he’s sold pigs.

“I don’t want to judge a fair if it has a pig we sold,” he admitted.

“Luckily, Brody also has a big rolodex of friends he can call to judge if he can’t,” Carla added.

Brody will finish his under-graduate degree in animal science with a focus on business next spring.

He plans to stay an additional year to earn his master’s degree, “which gives me a little more time to decide what I want to do,” he said. “Everybody asks me what I want to do after school, and I still don’t know yet. It’s definitely exciting to have options.”

Brody was the highpoint individual for his K-State animal meat evaluation team, the defending national champions. (As an aside, both were achieved on his 21st birthday.)

With college two short years away, Kyser plans to first attend a junior college to judge livestock, then attend Kansas State “and get a master’s degree in something.”

THE brothers are adapting to their first true summer apart. The Nemeceks raise hogs and cattle on their farm in northern Allen County. In terms of breeding stock, they have six sows, five does and roughly 20 cows.

While interning in Iowa has been fun, “It’s been different since I’m away from home so much,” Brody said. “I’m loving the experience, but living five hours away, it’s been difficult to let Kyser do everything. We thought when I was done showing,

we’d cut down on the number of pigs that we raised, but clearly that hasn’t happened.”

Kyser, too, notes his

“When we get weekends like this and I can come home,” he said, “I want to take advantage of it.”

Saturday Sunday 87 63

68 91 70 95

8:39

Kyser Nemecek was named the National Junior Swine Association’s Premier Berkshire Breeder.

Diehl honored at Hutchinson

Ryan Diehl, son of Shirley and the late Richard Diehl of Iola, was recently awarded the 2022 National Collegiate Honors Council Ron Brandolini Award for Excellence.

The award recognizes a two-year college honors director or faculty member for their contributions to the honors community.

Diehl, a 2000 Iola High School graduate, has been affiliated with the Hutchinson Community College Honors Program since 2000 and became its coordinator in 2011. Diehl works with honors faculty and students to expand program experiences both in and outside the classroom. He has mentored students who have gone on to be

accepted into selective program and win state and national scholarships.

Diehl is also co-founder of the Kansas Honors Council and has helped organize the Kansas Honors Connections Conference for many years. Diehl serves as president of the Great Plat Plains

Honors Council which includes honors programs in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas and has served on National Collegiate Honors Council committees.

In 2020, Diehl completed his Ph.D. through University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Educational Administration program where his dissertation examined how honors programs at two-year institutions can provide a pathway to success for first-generation college students.

Diehl was named Educator of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 at Hutchinson Community College, where he is a professor of English and political science.

Lawrence declares itself transgender safe haven; will not follow new law

By GRACE HILLS Flatland

all persons seeking shelter from the adversity of discrimination, in all its forms, including those persons affected by Senate Bill 180.”

The ordinance addresses a person’s sex or gender as they identify and does not require people to identify with their sex assigned at birth. In contrast, Kansas Senate Bill 180, which became law on July 1, defines a person’s sex as “biological sex, either male or female, at birth.”

Lawrence will not be following the state’s requirement to force people to use gender-specific areas, such as restrooms, with their gender assigned at birth.

The ordinance approved Tuesday passed quickly, and on the first read. Activist group “NO SB 180” worked with city attorneys to create the ordinance, which is now in effect only 18 days after Senate Bill 180 became law.

Supporters acknowledged the ordinance may be contested by the state but believe that if the issue was brought to the Kansas Supreme Court that SB180 would be declared unconstitutional.

In early May, Kansas City approved a similar resolution. Kansas City’s resolution was specific to Missouri’s anti-trans bills, which banned gender-affirming care for minors and those on Medicaid, as well as banned transgender kids from participating in sports

consistent with their gender identity. A group of people are clapping. One person in the middle is holding a piece of legislation.

News

Kansas City declares itself a ‘safe haven’ for gender-affirming health care as Missouri restricts access Justice Horn, the chair of the LGBTQ Commission of Kansas City and supporter of the Kansas City resolution, appeared at the meeting in Lawrence to express his support.

“There are a lot of similarities from Missouri to Kansas with our attorney generals and our state legislators pushing so hard that they want to snuff out our trans siblings,” Horn said. “I think our cities and our counties need to be at the forefront of that fight.”

Kansas City had to pass a resolution, compared to an ordinance, because the city does not have control over its police department — though the Kansas City

Biden picks female admiral to lead Navy, first woman to be military service chief

WASHINGTON (AP)

— President Joe Biden has chosen Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, a senior administration official said Friday. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to be a U.S. military service chief.

Biden’s decision to tap Franchetti, an admiral with broad command and executive experience, goes against the recommendation of his Pentagon chief, but he is selecting an officer whom insiders had considered the top choice for the job. Franchetti, the current vice chief of operations for the Navy, would become the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Defense Secretary

Lloyd Austin recommended that Biden select Adm. Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, several U.S. officials said last month. But instead, the administration official said Biden is nominating Paparo to lead U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the nomination has not been made public.

The administration official said Biden chose Franchetti based on the broad scope of her experience at sea and ashore, including a number of high-level policy and administrative jobs that give her deep knowledge in budgeting and running the department.

Adm. Lisa Franchetti. NARA & DVIDS PUBLIC DOMAIN ARCHIVE

tion and believes that Franchetti will be an inspiration to sailors, both men and women.

ever, is not a member of the Joint Staff.

Police Department has expressed its support.

Lawrence was able to pass an ordinance because they have control over their police department. The language in the ordinance includes “the city, its public officials, officers, employees, agents or contractors.”

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez has previously stated: “Let me be clear. My office’s prosecutorial resources will not be used to prosecute anyone under SB 180.”

The room was filled with supporters of the Lawrence ordinance. Eight teary-eyed testimonies were made in support, including one from the First Presbyterian Church, an attorney, transgender people and cisgender allies.

“It makes me sad that we have to do this,” said Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larson. “Because people just want to live their lives and be left alone. This SB180 is nothing but fear and confusion. That’s all it is.”

At the same time, the official acknowledged that Biden understands the historic nature of the nomina-

Franchetti’s nomination will join the list of hundreds of military moves that are being held up by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He is blocking confirmation of military officers in protest of a Defense Department policy that pays for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. She is slated to serve as the acting chief beginning next month when Adm. Michael Gilday, the current top Navy officer, retires as planned. Several woman have served as military service secretaries as political appointees, but never as their top uniformed officer. A woman, Adm. Linda L. Fagan, is currently the commandant of the Coast Guard. She, how-

The president, said the official, believes Franchetti is the right person for the job and moving Paparo to head Pacific Command also puts the right person in that post.

The official declined to comment on Austin’s recommendation. But news last month that the defense chief had recommended Papara stunned many in the Pentagon because it was long believed that Franchetti was in line for the top Navy job.

A surface warfare officer, she has commanded at all levels, heading U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. She was the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral, and she did multiple deployments, including as commander of a naval destroyer and two stints as aircraft carrier strike group commander.

‘Help me’ sign leads to girl’s rescue

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A 13-yearold girl kidnapped in Texas and sexually assaulted was rescued in Southern California when passersby saw her hold up a “help me” sign in a parked car, police and federal authorities said.

The rescue occurred July 9 in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, when officers responded to a trouble call and found the “visibly emotional and distressed girl,” police said in a press release Thursday.

“Through their investigation, officers learned the Good Samaritans were in a parking lot when they saw the victim in a parked vehicle holding up a piece of paper with ‘help me’ written on it. They acknowledged the note and immediately called

9-1-1,” police said. Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, was arrested and on Thursday was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Sablan was being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.

The girl was walking down a street in San Antonio, Texas, on July 6 when Sablan drove up, raised a black handgun and told her,

“If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint.

According to the account, the girl had left home without telling her parents because she was attempting to visit a school friend who had moved to Australia a year earlier but kept in touch through an internet chatroom.

At some point after getting in Sablan’s car, the girl told him about her friend and Sablan said he could take her to a cruise ship to go to Australia, but that she would have to do something for him, the affidavit said.

A protester in Kansas City marches with students from Crossroads Preparatory Academy on April 13, 2022 who walked out of class to protest anti-LGBTQ bills in the Missouri legislature. KCUR 89.3 /CARLOS MORENO

From calamity to celebration

It’s been a week of celebration on top of catastrophe in Iola.

Late last Saturday I was never so happy as to hear the drone of our electricity come online in the south end of town after being knocked out by Friday night’s terrific storm.

And we were the lucky ones. For some, it wasn’t until Wednesday that power was restored.

Around our home, I began to scold myself whenever I flipped a switch only to forget the power was off, it comes so naturally. It’s also a reminder why candles make a good gift. But with a houseful, unscented is best.

In a brief visit Thursday with Jim Baker of Iola’s electric department, he said their work was far from over as they continue to replace downed poles, trim trees and re-loop damaged meter boxes. By now I’m sure he’s feeling it’s a thankless job. Be sure to let our city and county workers know you appreci-

ate their efforts.

DESPITE THE DEBRIS, Monday’s ceremonial signing of Bill 2039 to establish Lehigh Portland State Park went off without a hitch.

Gov. Laura Kelly was the guest of honor along with Iola’s Lt. Gov. David Toland and officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

In her welcoming remarks

Lisse Regher, CEO of Thrive Allen County, reminded the audience of the collective effort required to gain legislative passage of the measure.

The past nine years of building and maintaining walking and biking trails around the abandoned quarry proved the area could be so

much more if properly developed.

As owners of the land, Iola Industries board members were brought on board last summer and ultimately agreed to give the 500-acre parcel to the state as its 29th state park.

Gov. Kelly termed the exchange as “an extraordinary and visionary gift that will impact Kansas and Kansas families for generations to come.”

As an Iola Industries board member, I can vouch it was an easy decision. Though the land is valued at more than $1 million, the organization has never viewed it as commercial opportunity.

The park is about so much more than economic development, Linda Lanterman, director of Kansas State Parks, told the audience.

“It’s about quality of life. It’s a respite for physical and mental well-being,” she said.

That those qualities attract visitors makes it a win-win.

Off the bat, the site’s value to the community has in-

creased infinitesimally as a state park.

Mary Kay Heard, chair of Iola Industries, reminded the audience that when the organization bought the property in 1971 when Lehigh Portland Cement closed that “it wasn’t pretty, actually.”

There was no water in the quarry and the land lay scarred by the mining.

“But as the land became more beautiful, Iola Industries board members had a dream for it to be available to all the people.

“For years it was just a dream. But in 2022-23, that dream found the right people in the right places with the right tools to make Lehigh Portland State Park. And we’re mighty grateful.”

“Economic development has always been our mission, and we’ve brought a lot of businesses to town. But businesses come and go.

“This park is going to be here far into the future and something we can all celebrate,” Heard said of the legacy gift.

Gov. Laura Kelly is surrounded by a community of supporters for the new Lehigh Portland State Park as she ceremoniously signs Bill 2039 that designated it as Kansas’ 29th state park.

Susan Lynn Register editor

Lt. Gov. David Toland embraces longtime mentors Donna Houser, left, and Mary Ann Magnuson-Patterson. REGISTER

PHOTOS BY RICHARD LUKEN and VICKIE MOSS

Maria Unruh is with Finian Springer, ager 2, and her son, Russell, age 4, on the lake’s edge.

Gov. Laura Kelly

Mary Kay Heard, Iola Industries chair

Sports Daily B

Indians stay on track for repeat

Iola downs Colby, Beloit to open AA state tourney

By QUINN BURKITT The Iola Register

(Note: Due to press deadlines, results from Friday’s AA American Legion State Tournament action between Iola Post 15 and Garnett were unavailable. Please visit iolaregister.com for full coverage.)

CONCORDIA — Iola took two more steps to a state baseball repeat.

The Post 15 Indians steamrolled Beloit, 13-3, Friday morning, to advance to the championship semifinals, set for Friday evening against Garnett in the double-elimination tournament.

Trey Sommer delivered the big blow, a bases-clearing double, that allowed Iola to break open what had been a 4-2 lead to 7-2. Kaiden Barnett and Jack White each added two hits in the win.

THE ROUT was a far cry from Thursday’s opening nailbiter, in which Sam Hull delivered in his fourth at

Iola Post 15 pitcher Brandon McKarnin delivers for the Indians in a 6-5 win over Colby Thursday in the first round of the AA American Legion State Tournament. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

bat against Colby, with an RBI double to claim a walk-off 6-5 win in the bottom of the seventh.

“That’s huge,” said Iola head coach Ethan Tavarez. “You always have to make the next

Katie

Youngsters gunning for Ledecky’s crown

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) —

Katie Ledecky has almost never gone home with anything other than a gold or silver medal in the Olympics or world championships dating from the 2012 London Games.

But it might happen again Sunday in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on the opening night in the pool of the World Aquatics Championships. This is perhaps the most anticipated race of the entire eight-day program.

One of the greatest freestylers the sport has ever seen, Ledecky is up against

two younger stars: 16-yearold Summer McIntosh of Canada, and 22-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia.

“Of course Summer and, of course Ariarne, have some incredibly fast times over the last two years,” the 26-year-old Ledecky said. “I know they’ll be right there and I know there are a lot of other contenders as well.” United States head coach Bob Bowman summed up the meet, particularly the first day.

“There are definitely people out there with star qual-

See LEDECKY | Page B2

play and that’s what he did.

That’s what we’ve been telling these guys all year. We made some mistakes here and there and we moved on and Sam was a perfect example there.

That wasn’t even our best hit-

ting game.” Sommer started on the mound for Iola and went three innings after allowing a Colby run to score on a wild pitch in the top of the first for the 1-0 deficit. Sommer al-

Note:

lowed only three base runners, two hits and a walk.

Max Kersenbrock was the runner to cross home plate for the Sluggers.

Logan Page stepped in to pitch in the fourth. Page didn’t allow a hit and let up one run with four strikeouts through two frames.

Iola struck at the plate in the bottom of the fourth beginning with a Sommer RBI single to left field to knot the game at 1-1. Sommer came around to score on a wild pitch later in the fourth to put the Indians ahead, 2-1.

Jack White then singled to left field to plate two more runs and go ahead 4-1 in the fourth.

Sommer came through yet again for the Indians in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single to left to take a 5-1 advantage. That’s when the momentum shifted at the plate.

Colby added two runs in the top of the sixth on a Talon Andreasan bases loaded walk to bring the deficit within 5-2. Kersenbrock then sent a sacrifice fly to right field to bring the

KC counts on rookies to stay on top

By DAVE SKRETTA The Associated Press

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Rashee Rice spent every morning this past summer huddling with Shane Buechele, the former Texas quarterback-turned-backup to Patrick Mahomes, trying to get a grasp on the telephone bookthick playbook of Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

Rice knows the Chiefs have high expectations for him after spending a second-round pick on him.

They’re even higher given how much their rookies produced last season.

It’s a good bet that, despite an MVP performance from Mahomes and more brilliance from Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and the rest of the Chiefs, they would not have hoisted another Lombardi Trophy last season without their group of first-year players.

Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams and Bryan Cook became regular playmakers in the secondary. George Karlaftis was one of their most reliable edge rushers. Skyy Moore made some important catches and one hugely important punt return in the Super Bowl. And seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco not only became the starting running back but a bona fide star.

“We really had to slam dunk this thing from start to finish, and it was one of those

years a GM dreams of,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach acknowledged. “Just everything seemed like it would work out.”

Now it’s up to Rice and the rest of a new rookie class to do the same thing.

So, the wide receiver toiled away over the summer in the hopes of stepping into an important role for the Chiefs, who watched JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman leave in free agency and will be counting on him to pick up much of the slack.

“Like I said, meeting with Shane during our break gave me a head start just because he’s a quarterback, and he can’t really take a break,” Rice said. “Every day I’m going to be meeting with Shane in his dorm to go over plays before the next day.” Rice isn’t the only rookie carrying some great expectations this season.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Chiefs’ first-round pick, was always going to be in the

Sluggers field Foss arez like normally bined enth, 6-5 the but dugout three run

Isiah Pacheco (10) became a key rookie performer for the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs last season. KANSAS CITY STAR/RICH SUGG

Sam Hull’s RBI double in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Iola Post 15 Indians to a 6-5 win over Colby to start the American Legion AA State Baseball Tournament Thursday. REGISTER/QUINN BURKITT

Post 15: AA state baseball tourney

Continued from A1

Sluggers within a 5-3 margin.

The Sluggers attacked again in the seventh when Teigan Thummel doubled to left field to score a run and come within a 5-4 deficit. The next at bat saw Colby’s Brayden Foss send a sacrifice fly to right field to knot the game at 5-5.

“It’s the small things.

If you can make the

small play, you’re going to win,” Tavarez said. “It’s by not doing the small things that leads to big time errors. So working on those things in practice, making them become automatic, is huge.”

Iola’s Brandon McKarnin and Kaiden Barnett pitched the final two innings and combined to give up three runs on one hit and four walks.

When Hull stepped to

the plate with Sommer on second in the bottom of the seventh, he rocketed a double to left center field to score the game-winning run for the 6-5 victory.

“I knew we had a runner on second so I just wanted to put a bat on the ball and hit it in the green somewhere. I just wanted to put one out there,” said Hull.

“We had a pretty slow start but once we

got it going we held up pretty well. They (Colby) were pretty loud in the dugout so it was nice to quiet them down at the end,” Hull said. Sommer and Trey Wilson led the Indians at the plate as each collected a team-high three hits, along with Sommer driving in two runs. White had two hits and drove in a run while Hull drove in one run, the game-winner.

Ledecky: Swimmer heads to Worlds

Continued from A1

ity in swimming,” he said. “There’ll be three of them in the women’s 400 free.”

McIntosh set the 400 world record four months ago in 3 minutes, 56.08 seconds, taking the mark from Titmus, who in turn had taken it from Ledecky.

Ledecky dominates the 800 and 1,500. But not so much the 400.

Titmus calls the 400 “my baby.” And it’s the event in Tokyo where she won her first Olympic gold medal.

“I mean, it’s my favorite race,” Titmus said. “I wish that I could watch from the outside. I don’t really remember as an athlete seeing three women that have held the world record within 18 months all together racing each other. I really hope we can put on a good show.”

“I think this is probably he first time since the Olympics that I’m really feeling the buzz to race.”

Ledecky’s medal haul in the 400, 800, and 1,500 in the Olympics and worlds reads like this: She’s won seven Olympic gold medals and a silver. At the worlds, 19 gold medals and a silver. There’s also four other silver medals — in the Olympics and worlds — in relays and a lone 200-meter race.

In the 200 free at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she finished fifth. Ledecky obliterated the field in the 800 and 1,500 at the U.S. national championships several weeks ago in Indianapolis. She won

the 400, too. But she acknowledged the time of 4:00.45 was not what she expected.

“That was probably the one (race) I was hoping to be a little better in, just given that I’ve been better in that event throughout the years,” she said.

McIntosh made her Olympic debut two years ago in Japan, finishing fourth in the 400 as a 14-year-old with Titmus winning and Ledecky taking silver. A lot has changed as McIntosh approaches the race as, perhaps, the favorite. The pressure is on as she and other swimmers prepare.

“I don’t really like to focus on expectations from anyone other than myself,” McIntosh said. “I mean, it’s kind of irrelevant. I really feel the outside pressure. Obviously it’s there but at the end of the day all I can do is try my hardest and train as hard as I can to race the best I can.”

Ledecky can make history in the 800, which takes place on the penultimate day. She can become the first person — male or female — to win six world titles in the same event.

“I’m looking forward to the 800 at the end of my program,” Ledecky said. “I don’t really have a preference on when it falls in the meet, but I’m used to it being at the end of these meets. And it’s kind of a nice one to end with knowing that its my favorite race.”

Bowman also coaches rising French star Leon Marchand at Arizona State. Marchand is a threat to break Michael Phelps’ world record in the 400 IM of 4:03.84. He has clocked 4:04.28 and is being billed as the next Phelps, the man who won 23 Olympic gold medals.

That race is also on the opening night. The winner is probably not in doubt, but all eyes will be on a possible

world record.

“I saw him (Marchand) yesterday and he kind of has a look when he’s ready to swim — and he has that,” Bowman said.

Bowman said Marchand’s area for improvement would probably come in his freestyle leg. He was also asked Friday about any conflict coaching a French swimmer at the worlds.

“Right now my primary concern is the USA,” he said. “So, that’s what I’m addressing now. And I coach some other international swimmers besides Leon, as does every coach here on our staff. And we balance that. But our main concern is our team here.”

One thing for sure, Marchand could be the face of next year’s Olympics in Paris.

“It’s going to be a lot of interest, which is an amazing thing,” Bowman said. “It going to be a lot of pressure — less amazing.”

MVP performer

Last weekend, River Glenn Watkins, 7, of Ottawa finished his Little League season by winning the MVP Award and a signed baseball.

He ended the season by going 4-for-4 for the Hawks, who play their games in Lawrence, with a home

run River is the son of Kared and Mallory Watkins and the grandson of Iolans Mick and Mona Melvin. He’s the great-grandson of Jeanne Percy and the late Glenn Percy and Jana Watkins and the late Lucien Watkins.

Early success goes awry

HOYLAKE, England (AP) — Christo Lamprecht didn’t last long at the top of the British Open leaderboard. The South African amateur went from a tie for the lead on the first day to being on the verge of missing the cut on the next. Lamprecht made five bogeys on his first seven holes on Friday,

then added three more on the back nine to finish with an 8-overpar round of 79. He finished at 5 under on Thursday to take the lead alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Emiliano Grillo. The second-round collapse left Lamprecht at 3 over for the tournament, on the current cut line.

River Watkins

Fiery wife leaves husband feeling like a doormat

Dear Carolyn: My wife has what I would call some anger issues. I don’t know whether she would agree. But I have asked her at various times to be “nicer” to me. (I hate putting it that way, as it makes me feel like, well, a weenie.) I’m realizing now that she has told me who she is, and she’s not going to be nicer to me. She’ll respond: “What? I can never be moody? I can’t live that way.”; “You just want me to be like one of those ‘sweet’ women.” (Said disdainfully.); or “You just want me to be like this [hand motion indicating a perfectly straight line, meaning completely even and without emotion].”

All that is bad enough. What makes it so much worse, and so devastating, is that she’s a person who, on many occasions, has spent an hour talking to me and obsessing about how she has screwed up by saying something that might have offended or insulted someone or that could be perceived as mean or derogatory.

Maybe what she said could have been said better, but in every instance, there is little indication that the person has perceived her comment the way she fears it has been perceived.

I should add that my wife has (she would concede) rejection sensitivity associated with her diagnosed atypical depression, as well as abandonment fears.

So, in short, my wife is so concerned about how other people may feel about her notvery-bad-at-all com-

Carolyn Hax

ments but couldn’t care less about my explicit requests that she talk differently to me. I can’t help analogizing to the child who is nearly perfect at school, but, because that takes so much energy, they let loose when they come home.

In this case, I feel like the doormat where my wife wipes the dirt off her feet that she spares from other people. I’m broken. Help. — Just the Doormat?

Just the Doormat?: Every word of this is a case for you to get individual counseling ASAP. Your therapist can’t diagnose your wife for you but can give you an idea of the scope and severity of the issues you’re facing, plus tools to deal with them. Your wife’s mental health challenges have thrown you in over your head and have also subjected you to what sounds like emotional abuse. So, I mean it: ASAP.

I know this is a bad time to try to start with a new therapist, so be persistent and flexible, but don’t quit till you find something. Suggested places to start looking are here, on my resource page. Take care.

Oh — and we all deserve kindness, especially from our chosen people. Nothing even remotely “weenie” about asking for it. Asking shows us who refuses to give it.

Bennett dies at 96

Tony Bennett

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Bennett, the eminent stylist and last of the great saloon singers whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" graced a decadeslong career, has died at 96. His publicist said he died Friday. Bennett often said his lifelong ambition was to create "a hit catalog rather than hit records," which he accomplished through more than 70 albums. Bennett was praised often by fellow performers, but never more meaningfully than by what Frank Sinatra said in a 1965 Life magazine interview: “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business.

Getting a handle on hazing in sports

By RALPH D. RUSSO The Associated Press

Georgia coach Kirby Smart remembers having his head shaved when he was a freshman football player at his alma mater back in the mid-1990s and busing tables after team meals.

Older players putting the newbies in their place by hazing remains ingrained in team sports at all levels in the United States.

That is not the way Smart wants to run the Bulldogs, who have won two straight national championships.

“Now, those freshmen, the guys we sign, they have to play,” Smart said this week at Southeastern Conference media days. “So when you create this separation of, they have to do this and they have to do that, they’re not ready to play. They’re like a different team.”

While major college sports programs have become multimillion-dollar, high-stakes

tion found allegations of hazing by 11 current or former players, including “forced participation, nudity and sexualized acts of a degrading nature.” Fitzgerald, who was reportedly making more than $5 million per year, was let go after he was initially given a two-week suspension.

The school is now facing at least two lawsuits by former players and more are possible. Players said hazing was so rampant in the football program it had become normalized.

more than 400,000 athletes, does not have rules regarding hazing. Instead, the association defers to state laws and school policies. Particularly egregious and violent acts of hazing routinely draw headlines. Fraternities and other school-based groups have often been involved despite the efforts of organizations like the Anti-Hazing Coalition.

III college athletes back up what was suspected.

“In general, hazing goes from mild to severe,” Lipkins said.

Vanderbilt linebacker Ethan Barr said head coach Clark Lea sent a group text to the team with a link to a news story about the Northwestern hazing scandal.

businesses run more like professional teams, ritualistic hazing remains a problematic tradition within them. School rules forbidding hazing, more than 40 state laws against it and horror story after horror story have not stopped it.

“I think it’s happening more often than people realize and we see it making the headlines around what’s

happening in high school locker rooms,” said Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine who has studied hazing on campus. “And so students are coming to college often having experienced hazing in their high school athletics programs.” Northwestern fired longtime football coach Pat Fitzgerald after a university investiga-

Pro leagues offer different tacks

By DAVID BRANDT The Associated Press

The biggest professional sports leagues in the United States have dealt with a smattering of hazing issues over the past decade, ranging from NFL offensive lineman Richie Incognito’s bad behavior to Major League Baseball cracking down on rookies dressing up as women.

In response, some of the leagues have crafted dedicated anti-hazing policies, while others haven’t.

As Northwestern’s football program faces a barrage of hazing allegations, The Associated Press asked all four major U.S. pro leagues about their anti-hazing policies.

Baseball appears to have the most extensive anti-hazing and anti-bullying policy, which was first released in 2016. The NBA said hazing was prohibited in its operations manual. The NFL and NHL don’t appear to have specific guidelines, instead saying they believe any potential hazing issues are covered in personal conduct or anti-discrimination policies.

While former Northwestern players say hazing was so rampant in the football program it had become normalized, the biggest pro sports leagues in the U.S. have mostly avoided high-profile scandals over the past decade with the notable exception of Incognito.

The Miami offensive lineman was suspended for the final eight games of the 2013 season after teammate Jonathan Martin abruptly quit the team amid accusations he was being bullied. An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen persistently harassed Martin.

ago, after pictures of rookies in women’s clothing became common on social media.

The practice was mostly light-hearted, but increasingly frowned upon as attitudes around gender roles and stereotypes changed.

MLB The league issued its anti-hazing policy in 2016, adding it as a supplement and clarification to the “Workplace Code of Conduct: Harassment & Discrimination” section in the sport’s collective bargaining agreement.

The policy says that players may not “engage in a pattern of verbal or physical conduct that is designed to demean, disgrace, or cause mental or physical harm.”

It also forbids some initation rituals, such as “dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or other characteristic.”

Many players criticized the policy when it was created, but it has seemed to effectively end the once-common, cross-dressing rituals.

NBA The league says its operations manual strictly prohibits bullying and hazing, which is defined

as behavior that “harms, intimidates, offends, degrades, threatens, or humiliates another person or creates a risk to their health or safety.”

NFL In response to an AP request for its anti-hazing policy, league spokesman Brian McCarthy referred to the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Those guidelines don’t mention hazing specifically, but do expect personnel to “show respect for others inside and outside our workplace.”

It also expects players and team personnel to avoid doing things that are “illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible, puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL.”

NHL The league said any punishment for hazing would fall under the commissioner’s broad powers within the collective bargaining agreement to discipline unacceptable behavior.

“The NHL believes that evaluating every incident on a case-by-case basis is more effective than establishing a matrix that assesses predetermined penalties for certain acts without any context,” NHL spokesman John Dellapina said in an email.

“You’re overpowered, you’re dominated by the culture,” said Lloyd Yates, a member of the Northwestern football team from 2015-17.

Allan said studies have shown about half of all students report experiencing some type of hazing in high school. She said hazing can be found wherever a large group is trying to establish a hierarchy.

“If you understand hazing as a form of an abuse of power, then you can see how in those environments or group situations where people are jockeying for power or trying to enforce some kind of hierarchies, hazing is an easy way to kind of make clear who’s got the power,” she said.

She added that often those who have been hazed are conditioned to perpetuate the bad behavior.

“It was done to me, so ... this is what we do here,” Allan said.

Forty-four states, including Illinois, have laws against hazing; some treat it as a felony.

The NCAA, the largest governing body for college sports in the United States that includes more than 1,100 member schools and

Members of the Florida A&M marching band were convicted of manslaughter and felony hazing for the 2011 beating death of a bandmate, Robert Champion, and were given multiyear prison sentences. A Minnesota high school football team suspended its season and fired its coach in 2021 after a hazing incident; a former student and football player was given probation for assaulting the victim with a toilet plunger.

Susan Lipkins, a psychologist and researcher who studies hazing, said she believes incidents have increased in “frequency and severity, and in sexuality.”

“So the reason it has become more sexualized is that it is the quickest way to humiliate someone and to make them powerless,” Lipkins said.

Experts say even seemingly harmless acts of hazing that still occur in the professional ranks — younger players being forced to carry equipment, wear silly costumes in public or clean up after team events — should be discouraged by coaches.

Allan said a study involving NCAA Division

“I don’t know all too much about it, but it was definitely a little stunning to see that kind of behavior not stop when people knew about it,” Barr said.

Lea said he doesn’t directly address hazing with his players, but the goal is to create an environment where they have a positive experience — and for them to be comfortable coming forward if something is preventing that.

Gerry DiNardo was the head coach at Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana from 1991-2004. He said he never experienced hazing as a player at Notre Dame in the early 1970s and never wanted it in his programs.

DiNardo, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network, said he went so far as to tell his players that they could not join fraternities that hazed their pledges. These days, DiNardo can’t imagine high-level recruits putting up with hazing and choosing to play for programs where it is a tradition.

“Everyone says we got a great culture. But what is a culture?” DiNardo said. “It’s the way we do things. And if you have people doing things like we’ve heard described, you know, that’s toxic culture.”

MLB’s hazing guidance came seven years

Northwestern University fired head football coach Pat Fitzgerald after evidence suggesting hazing had occurred. FILE PHOTO

With his future uncertain, all eyes on Ohtani

By GARY PHILLIPS New York Daily News

ANAHEIM, Calif. — With the Yankees in town and trade rumors swirling around Shohei Ohtani, Japanese reporters were hard at work in Anaheim earlier this week.

For much of the group, Ohtani — not his Angels — is the beat. That means covering and writing about every little thing he does. That can be more challenging on some days than others, as there are only so many ways to describe Ohtani’s greatness without sounding stale. And even the two-way sensation has quiet games, which can leave Japanese reporters without much to say while racing against inconvenient deadlines in their home country.

But the impending free agent’s future has dominated the baseball landscape recently, and the Yankees series provided several storylines. Even though the pinstripers seem like an unlikely landing spot for Ohtani for several reasons, Japanese reporters still made it a point to question visiting Yankees writers about the theoretically possible pairing.

On Monday, this Yankees beat writer spent time fielding questions from Nobu Saito of Nikkan Sports News. He wanted to know if the Yankees had the prospects to pull a trade off (other farm systems are deeper); if the Yankees could pursue Ohtani in free agency (they already have several large contracts on the books); and if the non-defender could fit the Bombers’ roster (they already have a near-permanent DH in Giancarlo Stanton).

While Ohtani and the reporters dedicated to covering him await the Aug. 1 trade

deadline, the international icon is in the midst of a sensational stretch, even by his standards.

With 20 home runs in his last 36 games, Ohtani has been on a power surge. But he’s also slashing .361/.476/.917 with six doubles, four triples, 35 RBI, and four stolen bases over that stretch.

Overall, Ohtani is hitting .306/.397/.678 with 76 RBI. He leads the league with seven triples and 35 home runs — and he has a 3.50 ERA and 139 strikeouts over 18 starts.

Ohtani’s crazy combination of stats led the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the reigning MVP, to agree that, yeah, this

guy is a “unicorn.” Judge agreed to speak with Japanese and local reporters on Wednesday because Ohtani is on a pace that could threaten the American League’s single-season home run record. Judge set the mark last year, hitting 62 to topple Roger Maris.

Judge had 38 home runs after 95 games in 2022. Ohtani has 35 dingers in 95 games this season, putting him slightly behind Judge. A big night here or there could change that trajectory, though.

“Records are meant to be broken,” the injured Judge said before adding that he

could always try breaking the record again if Ohtani sets a new mark this season. “It’s just a record, and it’ll be exciting for the game if he went out there and got 63-plus. So we’ll see what happens.”

Indeed, it would be fun for the sport. That applies to Ohtani at large, as it’s not unusual for him to wow audiences with historical firsts, big home runs and dazzling pitching performances. Sometimes he does that all in one game. “It’s incredible,” Judge said. “It’s fun to watch. I don’t like watching it in person when he’s playing against us doing what he’s doing, but it’s fun

when you can turn on the TV and see that he’s throwing eight innings, striking out 10 and hitting two homers in a game. It’s pretty impressive. So excited for what he’s done so far. I’m looking forward to what else he does when we get out of town here.”

Ohtani burned the Yankees in Monday’s game when he crushed a game-tying home run after Aaron Boone didn’t consider an intentional walk. The blast came off Michael King.

“I wish it wasn’t at my expense, but he’s an incredible hitter,” King said when asked about Ohtani’s season. “We knew as a team that we didn’t want him to be the one that beat us.”

Ohtani then tripled on Tuesday. He went hitless in Wednesday’s game — which cemented a sweep for the Angels — but he still scored two runs.

As this reporter explored Angel Stadium in the early innings of Wednesday’s game, it was noticeable that seemingly every fan in attendance stopped what they were doing to watch an Ohtani atbat. A quick glance at a small sample revealed no one was on their phone or walking or focused on concessions. All eyes were on the field.

Maybe that’s the norm in Anaheim, but it’s also worth wondering if that was a case of Angels fans taking in however many Ohtani moments they have left. After years of mediocrity despite employing two generational players — Mike Trout being the other — Ohtani is expected to leave. The question is when.

With the Angels still in the Wild Card hunt, his departure may be delayed, if only for a little while. But time appears to be running out in Anaheim.

The Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani scores on an RBI single against the New York Yankees at Angel Stadium of Anaheim Wednesday. GETTY IMAGES/SEAN M. HAFFEY/TNS

Rookies: Super Bowl repeat hopes hinge on youngsters

Continued from A1

spotlight given the fact that he grew up in suburban Kansas City and starred just down Interstate 70 at Kansas State.

But when the Chiefs lost Carlos Dunlap in free agency and released Frank Clark to create some much-needed salary cap space, it put some additional pressure on the gregarious and high-energy Anudike-Uzomah to produce in the same way that Karlaftis did as a rookie.

Anudike-Uzomah is

already playing catchup during training camp, which opened for rookies this week with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Sunday. He was coming off an injury and was limited during offseason work.

“It was very tough, especially since they drafted me to play me right away. They drafted me in the first round so all the coaches expected a lot out of me,” Anudike-Uzomah said following practice this week. “So it was very

hard, very tough that I can’t do exactly what they want me to do right away. It was just a lot of mental reps, a lot of learning the playbook, a lot of knowing player technique even though I can’t do it on the field, I have to do it mentally.”

THE URGENCY isn’t quite so great for the rest of the Chiefs’ rookie class.

They lost both of their starting offensive tackles in free agency, then filled the spots by signing veterans Jawaan

Taylor and Donovan Smith. And that took some of the pressure off Wanya Morris, their third-round pick out of Oklahoma, though the hope is that he can develop into the swing tackle capable of playing both sides of the line if someone gets hurt.

Fourth-round pick Chamarri Conner and seven-rounder Nic Jones, meanwhile, can thank last year’s superb rookie class that solidified the Kansas City defensive backfield for

their ability to slowly get acclimated to the professional game.

All the rookies have had the undivided attention of the coaching staff until the veterans report Friday. “I think it’s great for the young guys. I think it’s good for the older guys just to get tuned up, they know what it takes to get themselves ready for the season. This is a way to knock a little rust off,” Reid said, “but for the young guys I think it’s even more beneficial. And it’s also

beneficial for the coaches to see the young guys and see what they can do.”

NOTES: Pacheco said after Thursday’s practice that he will be ready for the season opener. He missed most of the offseason program after repairing a broken hand and torn labrum, which he played with during the Super Bowl. “I’m feeling great right now,” said Pacheco, adding that his goal for this season is to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing.

Asked if

RACING THIS WEEK

AMBETTER 301 AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

than New Hampshire, Martin Truex Jr.

Truex takes the big lobster at NH

Lseason – and second in a raindelayed Monday race (also Dover, Del.). He survived three restarts in the final 24 laps and ultimately held off one of the local favorites, Connecticut driver Joey Logano, across the finish line by a slight .394-seconds – although for most of the day Truex held the field at bay by more than a second in the first Monday afternoon race in the track’s 30-year history with the series.

The 42-year-old New Jersey native clearly had the car to beat – and no one could. His work not only earned the famed live lobster trophy, but also propelled him into the Cup Series champion lead by 17 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.

Asked if there was a track on the schedule where he wanted to win more than New Hampshire, Truex smiled, “I don’t think so.’’ His previous best finish was third place – three times. Five times he’d led more than 100 laps, including last year when he led a race high 172 laps, only to finish fourth.

“What we’ve been able to do here over the years was pretty remarkable and to not win was really getting frustrating,’’ Truex said. “[Crew chief] James [Small] and I have talked about it many times and talked with [teammate] Christopher [Bell] before the race and he said, ‘you’ve led more laps here than I’ve even run here in the Cup Series.’’

Truex led 163 of the opening 185 laps taking both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 wins to triple his total on the season. In the opening stage, Cup Series championship leader and four-race winner Byron was in

hot pursuit. Later in the race Truex had to fend off Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Logano. “When you’re at your home race track, second hurts more than anywhere else,’’ said Penske Racing’s Logano. “There’s no place I want to win more than here and came up one spot short. That one stings but overall, still have to say it’s a good day. Just mad right now.’’

Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson, fourtime New Hampshire Motor Speedway race winner, Stewart-Haas Racing driver, soon-to-retire Kevin Harvick was fourth in his final start at the track. Brad Keselowski, owner-driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team, rounded out the Top-5.

“We were fortunate we had fresher tires than most and were able to stay out and get most of that back,’’ Harvick said. “We’ve just got to be able to do what we need to do when it counts.’’

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick finished sixth, followed by Truex’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and SHR driver Chase Briscoe rounded out the Top-10.

Byron, who led nine laps, finished 24th.

His Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate Chase Elliott, who is still trying to claim a 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff position after missing six races this season, struggled much of the day. Elliott conceded after qualifying that he was not particularly optimistic about his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend.

Still, he rallied to a 12th place finish in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and remains ranked 23rd – now only 60 points out of 16th place in the standings with the Top-16 drivers transfering to the 10-race Championship round that starts in September.

Kyle Busch, who was second in the championship standings entering Sunday’s race, had a short day on an overall disappointing visit to New Hampshire. He spun the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in qualifying and had to start at the rear of the field after repairs post-qualifying. Then he made contact with the wall as the field came to the caution flag for Stage 1. The RCR team looked at the car on pit road but decided it was too damaged for repair, leaving him last in the 36-car field and dropping him to fifth in the standings.

a

NEXT: HIGHPOINT.COM 400

Pocono Raceway 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, USA

TRACK DETAILS

Pocono Raceway is an iconic attraction in the Poconos. NASCAR fans from around the county flock to the facility every year to experience the epic long weekend of racing. Those who visit the region often like to learn more about this raceway and discover its history.

Surface: Asphalt

Length: 2.5 mi (4.023 km)

Turns: 3 Banking, etc: The rst turn has a radius of 675 feet and 14° of banking. The back straightaway is 3,055 feet in length. The second turn has a radius of 750 feet and 8° of banking. The short straightaway has a length of 1,780 feet.

Race lap record: 223.871 mph (Juan Pablo Montoya, Team Penske, 2014, Verizon IndyCar Series)

Nickname: The Tricky Triangle

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota, takes the checkered flag Monday in the Cup Series Crayon 301 at New Hampshire. eads the field to a restart on his way to winning the Cup Series Ambetter 301 (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Chase Elliott (from left), Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin backstage during driver intros prior to the Cup Series race last season at Pocono. Later that day, Hamlin would win only to be disqualified, along with runner-up Kyle Busch, leading to third-place finisher Elliott being named the winner. TIM NWACHUKWU/GETTY IMAGES

XFINITY PILEUP ALERT! Chaos on a lap 71 restart at New Hampshire Saturday lead to

pileup. The inside line got backed up, causing the field to stack up and crash toward the back.